All Forum Posts by: Brandon Sturgill

 Let me know what you're after...happy to help...we have experience managing around 170 Section 8 rentals...we've been at it for a while. Take care

Hi Ken, any updates on your PM search?...I think it matters more about asset class and expectations...if you are buying apartment complexes and hire a PM the has a portfolio of SFR's you're going to hate yourself at the end of the first year. Columbus has a lot of transitional neighborhoods, so it's also important that your PM works in the neighborhoods you are investing in. I would also suggest reviewing credentials...50% of the PM firms in the city are not licensed brokers or agents affiliated with brokers....and most of the agents that claim to manage are focused on residential sales...not a great fit. Its a difficult area to navigate, but there are some excellent PM firms in Columbus as well.

Best of luck

Thanks @Jordan Holt out of curiosity, have you done this strategy before?...if so, why not just repeat what happened on prior projects...its sounds like you have something working well. 

When we were doing a lot of these deals it was delayed finance...with mixed results...the guys that were using HML and trying to exit were all getting burned with low appraisals on the back end...but at the end of the day it's all about the initial acquisition price of the property...buying at 50% of stabilized value seemed to always end well...

anyway, whatever decision you reach, I hope it works well. best of luck going forward.

@Simon W. what was it that you did not like and what were you using it for?...just curious. It's interesting to hear the difference of opinion and always good to consider alternatives...for us, Airtable is the only platform we've been able to use to fill the gaps in our property management software....Buildium...we actually upload csv files and re-create the Buildium database to get some amazing results and analytical insight commercially built platforms are incapable of delivering....but anyway, thanks for the feedback.

@Mark Munson thanks for clarifying...is that across all DSCR loans and lenders? can you provide more info on the 1007? Most appreciated

 just curious if this is a housing authority- specific rule...or other ordinance in your area...or just specific to non-payment of late fees and not rent?

FYI, you can't evict S8 for non-payment of late fees, so even if you charge them, the tenant can just not pay and you'd have to non-renew.

Thanks in advance

@Donald Candella if it's in the HAP contract you can...if your lease supports it, yes...if the housing authority has been made aware, sure...voucher holding tenants are not given special privilege to pay rent late...the same rules apply to open market and voucher holders. What you don't want to do is implement the fee and it's not in the lease. We have evicted many section tenants over the years where the housing authority was paying a portion of the rent and tenants were delinquent...we also have won judgments that specify we can still accept the section 8 portion of the rent after the legal eviction is filed...there is a clear separation between the HAP payment and the tenant responsibility...and it is a violation of the HAP contract if the tenants are not meeting your lease terms...they are at risk of losing the voucher, actually.

The twist here is that there is something going on below the surface causing the late payment and the housing authority or other social service agency needs to intervene...sometimes consistency and stability is elusive for section 8 tenants...solve the root cause and you may have a great long-term tenant

@Jordan Holt On the simplest level the debt service loan would be based on the income the property generates...I'm a little confused on the details...it sounds like the property is a single family that is not occupied?...if the property is not generating income, how would you get a DSCR loan?...and you also mentioned a commercial cash out re-fi...isn't it a residential property? Do you have other units collateralized?

Has your lender provided these two options to exit the hard money?

It sounds like this is a traditional cash-out re-fi...if its a SFR property you would be at whatever LTV your lender is offering...typically 70-80% on non-occupied...that changes if its your primary....and conventional lenders would be reluctant to re-fi a renovation project if you hold title in your LLC...if you could add some details to the project, debt structure and exit options it would help get to a more accurate answer.

@Aaron Lawson there is no perfect solution...its a sh*t situation that regulators are not thrilled to help out with...and law enforcement?...forget about it. We have always resorted to issuing letters to the code compliance officers and chief of police and being proactive to avoid fines, posting signage, completing routine on-site visits and drive-by's and building physical barriers. The conviction of people dumping garbage illegally is much higher than I ever would have imagined...its a determination that is hard to overcome.

Best of luck

this is an idea we borrowed from another property manger

@Benjamin Knight there is some great guidance here...the only caution I would have is QBO requires a lot of setup...i.e if your chart of accounts is not setup correctly...specifically for bookkeeping for rental properties it will end badly...hire a bookkeeper or CPA with RE experience if you go this route.

Buildium has a top-notch accounting feature, but the rest of the features are dull and clunky...if your portfolio is small, maybe a low code platform like Airtable is good...and I can't believe I'm saying this, but a Google Sheet may do the trick.

I think the key is professional guidance or review...reconciliations are critical to keep things in order...In my opinion this is best left to professional bookkeepers....well worth the expense